


Captive

by thekeyholder



Category: Muse
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 12:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1605224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekeyholder/pseuds/thekeyholder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dominic is a student who decides to work in his summer holiday in a clothing store, after he mistakes a pretty mannequin for a real man. But what if the blue-eyed doll is not an ordinary one?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Mannequin

**Author's Note:**

> Mini-series posted on my LJ between March - August 2012.

“Hey, Mum, do you mind if I wait for you on the bench outside?”

  
“Of course not, dear; I’ll just pay for these shirts and join you soon.”

Dominic Howard trailed away to one of the benches of the mall, carrying two big bags full of clothes and shoes he and his mother had purchased. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon and Dominic’s summer holiday had just started, so he felt very well and put on a lazy smile on his face. The twenty-year-old boy leaned against the wood and watched as pretty girls strolled in front of him in high-heeled shoes, their tiny dresses exposing lot of skin. This season was fantastic from many points of view…

What Dominic didn’t notice were the appreciative glances thrown in his direction by many passers-by. His sun kissed skin must have been conspicuous in mid-June, but it was his natural skin tone. His blonde locks were a bonus, completed by his a bit feminine features. However, the main attractions were his eyes which bore an interesting mix of agate grey and moss green, like a genuine mirror of nature; all his feelings reflected in them.

The blond grew bored and looked to his right to check if his mother was done, but instead he seemed to register some movement from the corner of his eye. However, when he looked closely, he was surprised to find that it was only a mannequin placed in the windows of the shop where his mum was currently chatting with the shop assistant. Dominic lolled his head to the left and studied the strange mannequin more closely.

The young man could have swore that he saw the blue eyes of the plastic man staring right at him, easily reading his deepest secrets. He dismissed the silly thought; he told himself that the mannequin must have been placed like that before Dominic even noticed him. Nevertheless, its eyes were very expressive and seemed real, their creator definitely a talented man. Even the features were meticulously chiselled, so it was no wonder that it was mistaken for a real man. Probably one of the shop assistants arranged its clothes and that’s what caused the movement.

“Please, would you make some place for me as well?”

Dominic looked up at his mother’s smiling face and he blushed that he was caught absorbed in his thoughts. He nodded enthusiastically at Mrs. Howard’s suggestion of eating at the Chinese restaurant, although his eyes still travelled back to the window of the shop from time to time, but there was nothing weird now. After a couple of minutes, they got up and as they passed the store, Dominic noticed a paper advertising a vacant post of shop assistant for the summer.

“Mum, what do you think about this?”

“I didn’t know you wanted to work in the holiday, but I reckon you could make some nice pocket money,” Mrs. Howard said enthusiastically.

“I’ll think about it and come back next week for details, but all I want to do now is to stuff myself with  Shanghai chicken!”

They both laughed and headed to the food court in a good mood.

* * * * *

When Dominic went to bed he thought again about the advertisement. He could only see the benefits if he were to be hired: he would earn his own money for the first time in his life, he would ease his mother’s financial situation and he wouldn’t be bored for sure either. His eyes felt heavy and the sweet fog of dreams alighted on his mind. However, a last thought surfaced too:

‘Maybe I’ll also find out the secret of the strange mannequin.’

* * * * *

Dominic woke up with a smile playing on his lips Monday morning. He was determined to get the job and put on an immaculate shirt and a pair of jeans. By the time he arrived to the mall it was past  ten o’clock . The young man felt a bit nervous, so he took a deep breath and told himself that he could do it. He walked into the store and asked the girl at the cash register about the job. She told him that he’d have to talk to the boss about that and took him to a hidden office.

“Mr Wolstenholme, this young man came for the job.”

“Thank you, Lucy. You can go back,” a deep voice sounded from the far right corner.

“Dominic Howard.”

“Christopher Wolstenholme.”

They shook hands and Dominic gulped as he handed his CV. The boss put the paper away, scrutinizing him minutely instead, from head to toe. Dominic watched as he united his palms in front of his mouth, as if making a final decision about the man in front of him. The blonde felt a bit uncomfortable, but he wanted to stand the proof and demonstrate that he was a trustworthy person. After a couple of minutes, Mr. Wolstenholme asked:

“Do you have any experience?”

“No, but I…”

“Do you have any big debts?”

“No…”

“Police record?”

“No…”

“Are you disposed to be here at  eight o’clock , sometimes even on Sunday?”

“Of course.”

Mr. Wolstenholme looked at Dominic again. Finally, he smiled and asked:

“Dominic, could you start tomorrow?”

 


	2. Behind Blue Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never worked in a clothing store, so I guess there are some inaccuracies in the story. Please, close your eyes to them. :) Enjoy!

Dominic was amazed that he was hired even when he got home. The boss didn’t even read through his CV, how did he know if he was the man he was looking for? Mr. Wolstenholme didn’t seem like an impulsive man who rushed into bad decisions, so Dominic liked to think that he looked trustworthy.

The next day he arrived in an excited state at the C&K store. Lucy was already there and greeted Dominic kindly. She seemed to be a sweet girl; when Dominic left Mr. Wolstenholme’s office the previous day she asked him if he got the job and after Dom nodded, she smiled honestly and winked at his new colleague.

“Hi, Lucy! You look pretty today!” Dominic greeted the girl.

She had long, black hair, hazel eyes and a body that even a supermodel would envy, yet she was wearing tasteful and decent clothes.

“Oh, stop it! I have a fiancé anyway, so no chance for you!” Lucy replied laughing. “He’ll kick your ass!”

“I don’t intend seducing you. Your fiancé can relax, I swing the other way,” Dominic confessed, curious about Lucy’s reaction.

“Really? You know, I have this friend, Adam, and I think you two would look ador-“

“Whoa, I didn’t know you’re a matchmaker! Stop right there, I don’t need any guy in my life right now,” Dominic stated firmly.

“Oh, Mr. Mysterious, tell me more!” Lucy placed her chin on her right palm and fluttered her eyelashes in Dom’s direction.

“Maybe another time,” Dom said seriously. “You must show me how things work here.”

Lucy felt that she touched a sensible chord, so she was relieved to change the subject.

“You’re right. Come, let me show you the deposit.”

By  ten o’clock when they had to open the store, Lucy had shown Dominic around. The blond found out that he had to put on new clothes on the shelves every morning, gather the pieces left in the changing rooms and fold them neatly, while also helping out customers and working at the cash register. Just thinking about it, Dom felt a knot in his stomach because he didn’t feel like he could handle all these tasks. How was he supposed to do everything with only two eyes and two hands? Lucy just laughed at his concerns and told him he’d be fine.

“In the first week we’ll work together and I’m sure that afterward Chris will help you too.”

“Chris? You mean Mr. Wolstenholme?” Dom asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah, he’s an awesome bloke. Most of the time I forget he’s my boss,” Lucy said with a smile.

“Really? But he seems so serious and during the interview I had this feeling that he could see inside my head,” Dom whispered, looking in the direction of the office.

“Yeah, he’s a tough businessman and all, but he’s really nice. You should see him when the kids visit him – he’s the perfect father. No wonder Kelly keeps making him babies,” Lucy said between giggles.

“Wow, how many children do they have?” Dominic was eager to find out more details about his boss.

“The sixth is on its way and no, they don’t have twins.”

Dominic whistled: “I’m impressed. I like children too, but raising six must be really hard.”

“Tell me about it! My father remarried and my three-year-old half-sister is the devil itself. There’s no logical reason for her inexhaustible energy to destroy things, so she must be the princess of Hell,” Lucy muttered while putting on her name tag.

“Oh, come on, she can’t be that bad!” Dominic laughed.

“You don’t know her, mister!” Lucy cried out and wagged her finger at her colleague. “By the way, Chris said you should wear one of the t-shirts we’re selling, so you’ll be a walking advertisement, just like me,” the girl pointed to her turquoise shirt and then to the mannequin in the window who was wearing the same shirt. “Let’s go in the deposit and choose you something pretty!”

Dom followed the girl in the dark room and he marvelled at Lucy’s easiness of finding clothes.

“What’s your size? M?” Lucy asked and Dom nodded.

“Here, this will be perfect!” Lucy stated with a victorious smile and ushered Dom out, leaving him no choice. “Tah-dah!” she unfolded the dark pink t-shirt and showed it proudly to Dom.

“I thought you didn’t stereotype people. Just because I’m gay it doesn’t mean I love pink,” Dominic said and folded his arms.

“What? No! I just think you’d look great in this t-shirt! It would bring out your tan,” Lucy persuaded the boy with a wink. “Please, Dommy!”

“Okay, okay, but only because you asked me nicely,” Dom puffed and went to change his t-shirt.

When he came back, Lucy was checking her make-up.

“You look fantastic, dear!” Lucy grinned when he saw Dom blushing. “Are you ready?”

Dom nodded, excitement rushing through his veins.

“Oh, one more thing: the music. Chris insists that something it’s always playing in the store. He says people tend to buy more if awesome music is on,” Lucy said while she turned on the radio and a catchy song started playing.

Dominic became so nervous that he felt the need to arrange clothes every other minute.

“Relax, we rarely have customers at this hour. Most people are working and those who aren’t working, well, those wake up later. You should bring a book with you, like me,” Lucy advised Dom, showing him a copy of _Northern Lights_.

Lucy was right: there were only a couple of old ladies entering the store and only one of them bought a shawl. However, the afternoon brought more and more customers. Dom preferred to gather the clothes left in the changing rooms or arranging them on the hangers than scanning the products at the cash register and actually interacting with the customers. He knew he’d have to learn it soon, but he decided to watch and learn from Lucy on his first day. However, he already loved the atmosphere of the store: it was dynamic, people were smiling and Dominic felt content.

Lucy suddenly put a stash of jeans in his arms and asked Dominic to arrange them according to their seize. As Dominic crossed the store he looked out the window, curious about the crowd outside, but instead he saw the reflection of a pair of blue eyes staring at him. Dominic almost dropped the pairs of jeans. It was that mannequin again! He didn’t know if it was unnerving or ridiculous that he mistook the mannequin for a real person for the second time in two days. He pushed the thought aside and went back to help Lucy.

After closing the store, Lucy and Dom went to the room kept for the employees and plopped down on the sofa.

“You still alive, Dommy?” Lucy asked with a smile, nudging him playfully.

“Yeah, I’m a bit tired, but I’ll get used to the hustle,” Dominic replied.

“That’s good, ‘cause I don’t want to change my colleague again. I think you’re the third this year,” Lucy said as she got up.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Dom muttered, deep in thought. “I hope Mr. Wolstenholme didn’t only hire me because he was desperate. Why did the others quit anyway? Or were they fired?”

“No, they both quit. I guess they just didn’t fit in or they wanted to do something else. I think it’s a pretty good job and is paid relatively well – I can pay my college bills working here,” Lucy concluded.

They exited the store and Lucy activated the alarm, sharing meanwhile the code with her co-worker too. Dominic looked at the left window where two male mannequins were exposed and noticed that the one with the blue eyes was staring again at them and had his right arm slightly raised, as if waving goodbye to the shop assistants.

“Hey, Lucy…have you ever had the feeling that these mannequins are looking straight at you?” Dominic asked with a frown.

“At the beginning, but I soon got used to their creepy faces. I must admit, though, that I don’t like to look into their eyes. I don’t even notice them these days, only when Chris asks me to change their clothes.”

“Speaking of Mr. Wolstenholme, where is he?” Dominic asked curiously as they left the mall’s building.

“He went to a meeting with all the other C&K managers in  London . He will surely show up tomorrow morning, so don’t be late!”

“I won’t. See you tomorrow, Lucy!” Dom waved goodbye and went to the bus station.

* * * * *

Dominic told his mother everything about his first day and praised Lucy. He was a bit nervous about the next day since Mr. Wolstenholme would be there and he would certainly keep an eye on him. Dominic made sure to get there in time – he was the first – and only allowed himself a single glance towards the mannequins. Lucy and Mr. Wolstenholme appeared very soon and the boss seemed pleasantly surprised to find Dominic there.

“So, how was  London ? Any news?” Lucy inquired.

“Yes, I actually have news. We might start selling children’s clothes too. One of the stores in  London will start and if it goes well, we’ll all follow their example,” Chris replied with a satisfied smile.

“Wow, you must be so proud, Chris! Your business is going great!” Lucy patted her boss’ arm.

“Wait! Are you the owner of the whole C&K chain stores?” Dominic asked dumbfounded.

“In the flesh,” Mr. Wolstenholme answered laughing. “C&K stands for Chris and Kelly, my wife.”

“You see that smile when he talks about his wife? That’s what I told you about, Dom,” Lucy chipped in.

“But how come you’re not in  London ? I always imagine big bosses sitting in huge leather chairs and just signing papers all day. You’re very involved, Mr. Wolstenholme,” Dom said honestly.

“My family loves this little town and I’d rather raise the kids in a nice, calm place than in  London . As for work, I’d hate myself if I was the kind of man you described, Dominic.”

The day passed similarly to the previous one and since Mr. Wolstenholme even helped out his employees, Dominic didn’t feel nervous anymore around him. At the end of the day, before Lucy and Dom went home, Chris stopped them:

“Lucy, could you please teach Dominic tomorrow how to handle the cash register? You can go on holiday from Saturday, so he needs to learn that part too. It tends to be crazy on weekends; I hope you’re prepared, Dominic.”

“I’ll do my best, sir,” Dominic replied promptly, though he became nervous again.

* * * * *

“Thank you for your purchase, sir,” Dominic smiled broadly, despite the typical Friday-afternoon fatigue he felt.

“Dude, you’re flawless today,” Lucy whispered after the customer left, leaning slightly towards her co-worker, her eyes widened with sincere admiration.

“Thank you. I had a great master,” Dominic replied and Lucy kissed his left cheek. “Have fun in your holiday and forget about work. Everything will be fine here.”

“Dominic is right. You can leave us to our own devices, Lucy. Go home, pack your stuff and have fun in  Spain !” Chris said and patted the girl’s arm. “We’ll miss you, but I know that Dominic manages pretty well and besides, I’ll help him out.”

Later that day, when Dominic was going home, he noticed that the blue-eyed mannequin seemed to be smiling. There was something peculiar about it, but Dominic felt so high-spirited he didn’t notice that the faces of all the other mannequins in the mall were frozen into a neutral expression.

  
  



	3. Matthew

Dom’s alarm went off at eight in the morning. The young man was a light sleeper, so it didn’t cause him much trouble to wake up early on a Saturday morning. Of course, he would have loved to sleep more, but he was a responsible adult now who had a job and duties. He wanted to give Chris a good impression and prove that he was a hardworking man. Luckily, next time it was Lucy’s turn to do the weekend shift, but honestly, he wouldn’t mind to work either. Dominic wasn’t bored like in previous summer holidays; he gained experience and was even paid.

 

Chris was right: the weekend was completely different from weekdays. There were more customers in the morning and the day would become busier and busier. Dominic was refilling the shelves and hangers for the second time and it was only two o’clock. He heard joyous children laughter and he saw a pregnant woman entering the shop with two boys and a girl. The woman looked around as if she was searching for someone and Dominic already had an idea who she might be.

 

“Kelly!” Chris cried out and ran up to his wife, the kids joining them in the hug.

 

Dominic smiled involuntarily.

 

“We went to the park and thought that we should visit you too,” Kelly said as they walked to the cash register where Dominic stood.

 

“Kelly, meet Dominic. Dominic, this is my wife, Kelly,” Chris presented with a big smile.

 

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about you,” Kelly said as she shook Dominic’s hand.

 

“I could say the same,” Dominic replied and admired the glow surrounding Kelly.

 

No wonder Chris was so attached to her; she seemed to attract all the light around her.

 

“Dad, won’t you introduce me to Dominic?” a timid voice sounded from beside Chris.

 

“Oh, sorry. Dominic, this is Frankie,” Chris sighed.

 

Dom could hardly stifle his laughter at the sight of the serious expression on the boy’s face, but he added in the end: “It’s an honour, Frankie. How old are you?”

 

“Seven, sir.”

 

“Frankie, you’ll be eight in a few weeks; you can say that you’re eight. Anyway, Dominic, you see the boy looking at the sunglasses? He is my eldest, Alfie,” Chris pointed to a tall boy, “and my eldest daughter, Ava Jo, I can’t see her right now, but…”

 

“Dad, you must change Matthew’s clothes, they look horrible!” a high-pitched voice stated.

 

“Yes, well, she’s definitely Ava Jo,” Chris said and hugged his daughter with an arm.

 

“Dad, I’m serious. Tom’s are okay, but Matthew’s clothes are quite distasteful,” Ava Jo frowned.

 

“Tom? Matthew? Who are they?” Dom asked confusedly.

 

The Wolstenholmes looked at each other and giggled.

 

“Long story. Ava named the two male mannequins Tom and Matthew,” Chris laughed and hugged tighter his daughter.

 

“Dominic, please excuse us, but I need to discuss something with Chris,” Kelly said and the couple retired to the office in the back.

 

Since Frankie joined his big brother in trying out the funniest sunglasses and caps, Dominic saw the perfect opportunity to ask Ava further questions.

 

“Ava Jo…tell me, why did you name the mannequins Tom and Matt? And which is which?”

 

The girl’s face lit up – somebody was finally curious about her preoccupations.

 

“Come with me!” she said, took Dom’s hand and dragged the young man outside the shop, so they were facing the two mannequins.

 

“The one on the left is Tom.”

 

Dominic looked at the taller mannequin who had black hair and dark brown, almost black eyes.

 

“And on the right, that’s Matthew,” Ava said. “It’s obvious that Dad changed his clothes; I hate this style on him!”

 

Dominic stepped closer and looked deeply into the well-known cerulean eyes. The mannequin was smiling broadly and his black hair pointed into every direction. He cast his eyes lower and burst out laughing.

 

“Oh god, Ava, you’re right! Your father dressed Matt with neon green trousers and a yellow t-shirt?!”

 

Ava and Dominic went back inside, laughing and making jokes about Chris’ fashion sense as if they would have been friends for an eternity.

 

“I heard that, young lady! You should look around and see what boys wear these days; I just dressed Matt in trendy stuff,” Chris huffed. “But if you insist, then I’m going to ask Dominic to change it tomorrow.”

 

“Brilliant idea, Dad!” Ava Jo agreed as she gave Dominic a highfive.

 

“I have a condition, though, my lady,” Dominic said and bit his lips in anticipation. “You must tell me why you chose those names for the mannequins.”

 

“Oh, but I didn’t choose the names,” Ava replied with surprise. “When Dad opened the store and bought the mannequins, I was there too. I just heard Matthew whispering; he told me his name and Tom’s too.”

 

“So, Tom actually never talked to you?” Dominic asked, fascinated.

 

“No. And that was the first and last time that Matt spoke to me,” Ava Jo said with a shrug.

 

“Okay, sweetie, that was enough. I’m sure Dominic has better things to do than listen to your fairytales,” Kelly admonished her daughter with a slight blush.

 

“No, no, I don’t mind. It’s entertaining,” Dom hurried to say, hoping that he didn’t reveal how much he was interested in the subject. “So Matthew didn’t tell you anything else?”

 

“I didn’t understand the rest. I guess it took him great effort to say even that…” Ava Jo concluded and she was glad to find comfort in Dom’s eyes.

 

“Come, Ava, your father and Dominic are busy,” Kelly said and called her boys too. “We must go.”

 

While leaving the store, Ava and Dominic kept eye contact for long moments; only once the girl glanced in Matthew’s direction and Dominic nodded slowly, almost imperceptibly. It was as if Ava would have asked Dominic to find out the rest of the strange mannequin’s story and he decided to take up the challenge. Dominic kept his eyes on Tom and Matthew, but they “behaved” well for the rest of the day. He and Chris closed the store, but the blonde man was determined to find out more the next day.

 

* * * * *

 

The next day Dominic arrived earlier to have enough time for his normal duties plus dressing up the mannequins. He had to do everything by himself because Chris had told him that he’d arrive only around noon. First, he chose the clothes for the female mannequins which actually didn’t present any interest – they had the same cramped expression as every other mannequin in the mall. It was a much more difficult task to choose clothes for Tom and Matthew – Dominic felt that these two had personalities and he had to respect them, especially Matthew’s.

 

The young man believed that Tom was more the sporty type, therefore he chose a vivid blue t-shirt and white, chequered shorts. Finally, he added a pair of Aviators which made the mannequin look even more fashionable. As for Matthew, Dominic changed his mind several times until he settled for something elegant: a grey suit and a white t-shirt with turquoise pattern which would emphasize the blueness of the mannequin’s eyes. He proceeded to get off Matthew’s clothes.

 

At first, it was a difficult task, but he learned a technique while changing the two female mannequins and Tom. Dominic lifted Matthew’s arms and grabbed the hem of the horrendous, yellow t-shirt, a funny thought crossing his mind: he hadn’t undressed a man since he broke up with his first boyfriend, Gabriel. Matthew’s torso was perfect: the pale skin had a pearly shine. ‘Of course, it’s perfect – it was designed to be like that,’ Dominic thought to himself as he carefully put on the white t-shirt.

 

It was then that he noticed something curious.

 

“No way…”

 

Matthew was blushing. Dominic knew that was impossible, but it was as if the mannequin was embarrassed to be naked in front of a stranger. The blond gently touched Matthew’s right cheek, but it was cold and felt like plastic. Dominic blinked confusedly and on impulse, he said: “I know this is awkward, but those clothes you had looked ridiculous. I swear I’m not going to look at the…um, your lower parts.”

 

The young man was blushing too as he laid the mannequin on the counter and quickly took off the neon green trousers. He was relieved to find that Matthew was “created” with boxers and he put on the grey trousers with a bit of difficulty since the plastic legs were quite rigid. Dominic put up Matthew and he stepped back to admire the mannequin’s new look. As anticipated, Matthew looked much better – he was classy and handsome. Dominic neatened a rebellious hair lock and smiled. He looked into the blue eyes and for a moment, he got lost – he had the impression of sinking into deep water and he could have sworn he heard a voice, but it was over far too soon to be considered more than a deceiving impression.

 

Dominic put Matthew back in the window and exited the store to see if everything was all right. He was happy to find the new attires much more attractive than the previous ones. He turned on the radio and since he was alone in the morning he changed the frequency to an alternative station, so he could listen to quality music while working.

 

* * * * *

 

“Nice job with the mannequins!” Chris said instead of greeting Dominic and his employee smiled proudly.

 

The manager looked satisfied with the crowd in the store – he noticed a particular group of gothic girls and threw Dominic an appreciative look. “I bet the ladies were attracted by the music you put on.”

 

“Oh, I can change it back to the normal station, I just like alternative music more and listened to it a bit in the morning.”

 

“No, no, leave it like this, we need to diversify our clientele,” Chris approved. “I’d rather have gothic girls buy from this store than those fake barbies who have just entered.”

 

Dominic looked in the entrance’s direction and grimaced. Three spoiled girls entered, not older than twenty, but their credit cards full of daddy’s money and their various body parts pumped up with silicone. They burbled with laughter, almost screamed, as if the whole mall was theirs. ‘Annoying bitches,’ Dominic thought and hoped that the princesses wouldn’t find anything good enough for them and leave soon.

 

Five minutes later the leader of the group stepped to the cash register with a red bra in her shopping basket and fluttered her fake eyelashes, waiting for the young man’s reaction. However, Dominic wasn’t enchanted by this or by the enormous size of the bra’s cup. He was cold, but polite which made the girl boil with anger.

 

“Hello, uh…” she struggled to read his name tag, “Dominic.”

 

“Hello,” the blond replied, aware of her plan to wind him around her finger.

 

“I’m Jessica. So, when do you finish your shift? You could join me and my friends for a drink,” the girl added with a wink.

 

“No, thanks, I work late,” Dominic said curtly.

 

“Oh, just tell your boss you don’t feel well. Come on, Dominic! Have a drink with us,” Jessica looked at her friends who waved, then leaned in and whispered: “and maybe later I could show you this bra in private. You can’t refuse such an offer.”

 

Dominic felt sorry for her. “Jessica, I can’t and I don’t want to. Here’s your bra. Thank you for your purchase!”

 

She looked at him incredulously, until the impatient customers behind her back cleared their throats.

 

“Please, don’t hold up the line,” Dominic asked her politely.

 

“Arsehole!” she exclaimed loudly, turned tail and Dominic sighed with relief until he heard a scream.

 

He looked up and the sight made him giggle. In a very curious way, Jessica’s blonde hair was somehow tangled between the plastic fingers of Matthew’s left hand. Dominic was sure that he didn’t position the mannequin that way, yet Matthew somehow reached out and taught the insistent and annoying girl a lesson. The blond boy noticed with joy that the customers who witnessed the scene were smiling with satisfaction.

 

“That young lady got what she deserved,” Dominic heard a woman state and he agreed wholeheartedly.

 

* * * * *

 

Before leaving the store, Dominic made sure that his boss was busy in his office and he walked to Matthew. The blond was biting his lower lip before speaking: “I might be going crazy here, but I know what I saw this afternoon. You basically saved me from a disgustingly impertinent girl, Matthew, and I want to thank you that.”

 

Dominic hesitated; he timidly patted the mannequin’s hand before slipping his fingers between the plastic fingers. He squeezed them gratefully and he could have sworn that he felt Matthew’s hand warm, but he convinced himself that it was the warmth of his own hand.

 

The blonde looked into the blue eyes and smiled at the silliness of his actions, leaving the store in a euphoric state. He certainly had a very interesting day.


	4. Ava's Solution

After only two weeks of working in the C&K store, Dominic felt as if he had always been an employee. Everything was fine, he felt happy to work there and Chris said the sales increased too. Being an employee, he could also buy clothes for less and he profited of the opportunity to enrich his wardrobe with  colourful pairs of jeans. Moreover, he became really good friends with Chris and he enjoyed the frequent visits of either Kelly or one of the older children. Thursday afternoon he was happy to see Ava Jo enter the store. The girl approached Dominic with an incredulous smile:

“Hey Dominic! What did you do to Matthew? I’ve never seen him so happy!”

“Hi, dear! I didn’t do anything,” Dominic laughed, embarrassed.

“Yeah, right. Well then, it means that your simple presence makes him ecstatic,” Ava laughed as Dominic blushed even more. “Anyway, Mum sent me to invite you to dinner on Saturday evening at  seven o’clock . That is, if you’re free and don’t have a date.”

“Date? Yeah, right.” Dominic snorted. “Tell your mum that I’d love to have dinner with you.”

“Great, so glad you’re coming!” Ava rejoiced and hugged Dom tightly. “Then we can discuss more about Operation M.”

“Operation M?” Dominic asked confusedly.

“Yes, Operation Matthew. But Mum and Dad mustn’t know about this. They find it funny and childish that I believe Matthew and Tom to be real and wouldn’t let me see you if they knew what we’re plotting. But I just know that at least Matthew is a real man and you can somehow save him.” 

“I’m not sure about the saving part, but there is definitely something weird going on…” Dominic mused.

“Ava Jo! What a surprise!” Chris said happily and joined his daughter and Dominic who suddenly fell silent. “How come you’re here?”

“Mum sent me to invite Dominic for dinner on Saturday,” Ava replied, watching the toes of her shoes.

“Oh, that’s a lovely idea! I hope you can come, Dominic?” Chris asked and he looked genuinely happy when his employee answered positively.

“See you on Saturday,” Ava Jo said and waved as she left the store.

* * * * *

The next day Dominic found himself feeling as on his school days: he couldn’t wait for his working day to finish. He thought it was something with which every man is born: the impatience to get home on Friday. He kept checking the clock and he felt almost tempted to hurry the people in the store.

“ _Hola, amigo! Cómo estás_?” a familiar voice asked.

“Lucy!” Dominic exclaimed, his eyes light ening up with joy as he hugged his friend.

“ _ Dominic! Se te ve feliz _ !” she said cheerfully and kissed the boy ’ s left cheek.

“What did you say? You spend a week in  Spain and you forget English? Please, don ’ t humiliate me in front of others with proving how helpless I am when it comes to foreign languages,” Dominic giggled.

“I only said that you look happy,” Lucy said sweetly, Dominic blushing involuntarily. “It’ s true, you look so…I don ’ t even know, content. As if you love where you are and…satisfied. Did you discover the elixir of happiness?”

Dom was slightly surprised; only yesterday Ava too noticed a change in Matthew. Was it…did it have to do anything with what Lucy had just said?  ‘ Matthew is always smiling ’ he thought to himself and instead he complimented Lucy on her golden tan. The girl thanked him, brushing away a rebellious hair lock from her face. Something caught Dom ’ s attention.

“Is that a diamond ring?!” he asked with surprise.

Lucy blushed. “Yes. Colin proposed to me!”

Dominic congratulated her friend and they hugged again.

“I thought he’ d already done it? You always referred to him as your  ‘ fiancé ’ .”

“No, we weren’t engaged, not officially. He said he wanted to have enough money to buy me a proper ring,” Lucy whispered, touched by the gesture of her fiancé.

“Ah, that sounds like a good plan! So I guess you had a great holiday?”

“Oh yes, everything was fantastic. By the way, I brought you something,” Lucy said and took out  a pouch from her pocket.

Dominic opened it carefully: it was a necklace with a pendant shaped like a ship. “It looks awesome!”

“You like it?” Lucy asked sheepishly.

“Of course I do, I wanted to be a pirate when I was a little kid,” Dominic laughed as he put on his gift.

“Well, it’ s never too late!” Lucy laughed and stepped aside when she noticed a customer approaching the cash register. “I have to go now. I just wanted to see you and to give you the gift.”

“Thank you, dear. See you on…um, Monday?”

“Yes. Have a great weekend while I’ ll be toiling,” Lucy said cheekily.

“You’ ve just returned from your holiday, you shouldn’t complain!” Dominic laughed and waved goodbye to his friend.

* * * * *

“Finally, I thought you wouldn’t come!”

“Good evening to you too, Ava,” Dominic laughed as he entered the Wolstenholme  house.

“Ava, what did we discuss? You’ re supposed to be a kind host!” Kelly ‘ s voice came from the kitchen.

“Do you need any help in there, Kelly?” Dominic asked as he peered into the kitchen.

“No, no, go and sit down in the living room. The kids will keep you company until dinner is read y,” Kelly said as she closed the door.

“Where is Chris?” he asked as he was dragged away by Ava Jo, who certainly had plans with him.

“Oh, he took the little ones to their grandma, so we could have a calm evening.”

“Aw, I haven’ t even met them,” Dominic pouted as Ava led him into the living room. 

“Lucky man. You should be glad that Ernie is not here, he’ d steal food from your plate,” Alfie commented, briefly pausing a game, so he and Frankie could greet Dominic.

Dominic looked around, laughing at the funny family photos displayed on the walls.

Ava Jo then whispered: “Come on, I have to show you something in my room. It has to do with Operation M. ”

“Hey Dominic, don’ t you want to play with us?” Frankie asked with a hopeful expression upon noticing that the blonde was staring at the screen.

“Oh, I’d love to, I really like racing games. Maybe after I come back? Ava wants to show me something,” Dom said apologetically.

“What?” Alfie asked curiously.

“Nothing important,” Ava hurried to say and to avert her brothers’ suspicion, she added: “It’s just something I did at school. I can show it later.”

Nevertheless, she huffed angrily as she watched Dominic taking a seat between her two brothers. Ava Jo murmured something along the lines “Men!” and glared at the boys who were absorbed by the racing game and were screaming excitedly.

A few minutes later keys rattled in the door and Chris appeared.

“Hello, kids! And Dominic!” he greeted with a grin.

The boys didn’t even notice him; they were too busy fighting for the first place.

“Dinner’ s ready!” Kelly announced as she finished setting the table.

Chris kissed his wife ’ s face gently and upon noticing that the boys didn’t hear anything, he reached for the remote control. The screen went black, the boys and Dominic complaining loudly.

“But, daaa ad…we almost finished the game…oh, come on.”

“Your mum’ s just announced that dinner is ready. Besides, you played enough for today,” Chris lectured the children.

Kelly proved to be a great cook  – everybody ate as much as they could. Dominic really enjoyed big meals when the whole family gathers and the Wolstenholme kids made it even more entertaining. When the dessert was brought in, he thought about refusing it, but he could never say no to chocolate cake. After such a copious dinner, Dominic felt a bit sleepy, but he was a gentleman and helped Kelly with the dishes. Once he finished in the kitchen, he bumped into an impatient Ava Jo waiting for him.

“Finally, I thought you’ d never finish!”

Dominic had a déjà vu feeling and let his little friend drag him upstairs to her lavender room. She had many dolls and stuffed animals, as any other girl of her age, but the blond was happy to see a full bookcase too. Ava Jo noticed Dominic ’ s stare and she stepped to her bookcase, taking out a rather thick and old book.

“I found the solution to our problem in this book. It was my great-grandmas and who knows when she got it.”

Dominic squinted, struggling to read the title: “ _The 100 most beautiful fairytales_? Why would such a book help us?” he asked, puzzled.

“I’ m sorry, did you think you ’ d find it on Wikipedia? Or maybe Google? Sure, let ’ s type in  _ ‘ _ _ how to turn a mannequin into a real man _ _ ’ _ . Sounds like a modern Pinocchio story to me!” Ava quipped.

Dom raised his hands in defence. “I ’ m sorry, dear Ava, I didn ’ t mean to upset you. Come, show me what you found.”

“Here; it seems like an insignificant note, but I think this is the solution,” Ava pointed to a sentence on the middle of the page and recited it.

“ _ The old, wise woman then said:  _ _ ‘ _ _ My dear son, every spell, every curse can be broken, however strong, with true love _ _ ’ _ _ s kiss. _ _ ’ _

So, what do you say?” Ava asked as she closed the book.

Dominic looked confused at first, then realisation hit him. He understood what the girl implied, but didn ’ t let his feelings show on his face, not yet. He sat on the bed and patted the space beside him. Ava obliged.

“Ava…look, I know what you mean and I find it sweet, but this…this is not possible. This is reality, not a fairytale. I wish things would be that way; oh, believe me, I wish Matthew would come alive from a simple kiss!” Dominic laughed lightly.

“But it wouldn’t be a simple kiss! It has to be true love ’ s kiss!” Ava reasoned.

“Let’ s imagine this could be true. What makes you think I ’ m the one for him?”

“I’ ve told you already! I ’ ve never seen Matthew smiling like that. He seems really happy.”

Dominic sighed; he knew there was no way convincing Ava that Matt is only a mannequin, not a cursed man. He also didn ’ t want to upset her, or worse, shatter her dream, so he only said: “I ’ m sorry, but I won ’ t kiss a plastic man. When you said that there ’ s something weird about him, I thought that you meant he was a special mannequin, like those lifelike dolls which can cry and utter a couple of words. I ’ m sure that if we ’ d look carefully, we ’ d find a little built-in mechanism which controls his facial expressions.”

Ava Jo wilted visibly and didn ’ t say anything. Dominic pressed a kiss on her forehead and they went downstairs. He talked a bit more with Chris and Kelly, then he decided it was quite late and decided to go home. The boys said goodbye and invited him to come back soon, but Dominic didn ’ t fail to notice the sad glint in Ava ’ s eyes. That was all he could think about while walking home in the desolate streets.


	5. To Kiss or Not to Kiss

Dominic really liked the Wolstenholme children, but he tried to avoid them as much as possible in the last days. It was all because of Ava Jo, that sneaky girl! At first Dominic was so touched by the absolute despondency constantly displayed on her face that he made every effort to cheer her up a little. When nothing worked, he cried out hopelessly:

“Dear Ava, please tell me how to make you happy! I can’t bear to see you so sad!”

Then her face lit up suddenly and she smiled impishly: “Kiss Matthew.”

Dominic realised he was fooled by a ten-year-old girl and he tried to ignore her from then on. But the children were also on school break and Ava Jo seemed to visit quite often. Even Chris and Lucy remarked her frequent visits, but they attributed them to the close friendship she and Dominic had developed. The stubborn girl was continuously beside the blond, sometimes very helpful, but she had her secret reasons to do so. Whenever she could, Ava made seemingly casual remarks about Matthew: “Look at that sad face, don’t you think Matthew looks lonely?” or “Don’t you think Matt is hot in that white shirt?” and she would add a wink for good measure.

At first Dominic took it lightly and laughed it off, but two weeks of intensive emotional bombardment drove him into a weird mood.

“Ava, I love you a lot, but this has to stop,” he told her on a sunny day.

The girl stopped talking, sensing the shift in Dominic’s tone. He took Ava’s hand and said quietly, staring at the floor: “You are a very dear friend, Ava, and I know you want the best for me, but all this teasing just makes me sad, you know? I’m afraid we had too many discussions about Matthew and my mind just keeps going back to him and I see his face everywhere and I even have dreams. This is unhealthy, Ava, you must understand. I can never have him.”

Ava was on the brink of crying, the waves of sadness coming from her friend almost overwhelming. She wiped her eyes and held Dominic’s hand tightly: “You’re in love, Dom, it’s perfectly normal to feel this way. Even more the reason to take my advice and do it.”

“No,” Dominic whispered faintly.

“Dom, look at me. If you want to end this misery, there’s only one way to do it. Kiss Matthew. If you feel embarrassed, do it when you’re alone. Now, there are two possible results: one – the curse will break and Matthew will be your prince or two – nothing happens, but at least you won’t brood on it your whole life. You know what they say: we seldom regret what we’ve done. It is what we haven’t done that torments us,” Ava stated and squeezed Dominic’s hand fondly.

The blond grimaced as if he was in pain: “I know that nothing will happen.”

“Just one try, Dom. One try and I swear I will never bother you about it.”

Ava looked at her watch and realised she was supposed to be home in ten minutes, so she took her bag and pressed a kiss on Dom’s cheek saying: “Whatever decision you take, I’ll always be your friend.”

Dominic watched her leave, but he didn’t have to stay alone much because Lucy returned with their lunch. He smiled, trying to forget the Matthew business and dedicated his entire attention to his lovely workmate.

* * * * *

Dominic was so absorbed by his thoughts that he didn’t even notice when the hours passed so quickly. Lucy and he had only one more hour until closing the shop and he supposed that there wouldn’t be anything interesting that day, so he started arranging clothes to make time pass. However, he heard a familiar voice and when he looked at the entrance, his heart skipped a beat. He turned tail, hoping not to be noticed and quickly walked to the cash register where Lucy was standing.

“Hey, Lucy, I’m going to retreat into the deposit. You can manage without me for a few minutes, right? When those two – and he pointed to two young man who were looking at t-shirts – go away, let me know,” Dominic hurriedly said through gritted teeth.

“What’s the matter, darling?” Lucy asked with concern and put her hand on Dom’s forearm.

“I’ll explain later, now just let m-“

“Hey, Dom! What a surprise!” one of the men exclaimed.

“Hello, Gabriel,” Dominic greeted him with much less enthusiasm.

He breathed in slowly with his eyes closed and turned back, flashing his ex-boyfriend a polite smile. From the corner of his eye, he could see Gabriel’s new partner, a tall and impressively muscular man with exotic features. The _replacement_.

“So…how are you?” Gabriel asked nonchalantly.

“Fine,” Dominic shrugged, pretending to be arranging some papers, looking at Lucy hopelessly, the girl discreetly retreated, giving them place to talk. “Working.”

Before the silence grew too awkward to bear, Gabriel’s boyfriend stepped to the cash register with a yellow t-shirt.

“I’m glad you found something, honey,” Gabriel said and handed Dom a card.

The boyfriend looked at the blond as he’d by choice stab him right there, nudged Gabriel who cleared his throat and said:

“Uhm, Dom, this is Ricardo, my boyfriend. Ricardo, this is Dominic, an old…friend.”

Dominic felt the bones of his hand snap when Ricardo shook hands with him, but he continued to smile. _‘You can do it,’_ he told himself, even when Ricardo made a show of snogging off Gabriel’s face. He knew this was to prove the blond that Gabriel now belonged to him. _‘As if I wanted the bastard back after he cheated on me,’_ Dominic thought angrily while he put the t-shirt in a bag and handed it with a fake smile.

“Well, bye,” Gabriel greeted and Dominic watched as Ricardo put his hand around Gabriel’s shoulder and glared at Dominic for the last time.

“They look ridiculous together,” Lucy said, verbalising Dominic’s thought. “Ricardo is twice the size of Gabriel. I bet he crushes him in bed.”

They both laughed, but Lucy looked attentively at her friend. “Are you all right, though?”

“Sure, it’s just awkward to meet former boyfriends, isn’t it?” Dominic asked with a sour smile. “More exactly, _the_ ex-boyfriend, the one you thought to be by your side forever.”

“I’m sorry, dear. It’s his loss, truly. You’re a wonderful man and you deserve an equally good man beside you,” Lucy said and hugged the blond. “You know what? Why don’t you come with Colin and me to have ice cream?”

“No, I have a better idea. You go now and meet your fiancé and I will close the shop today,” Dominic said slowly, his gaze travelling in the shop window’s direction.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I need a bit of time to think.”

“Well, all right,” Lucy agreed. “We’ll have ice cream some other time, right?”

“Sure. Have fun!”

* * * * *

Dominic waited half an hour, doing all kinds of things except looking at the mannequins. He watched as the mall’s employees closed their shops and went home, some nodding in his direction. He fiddled with his ship pendant nervously until he finally got up and went to the shop window. The blond looked around and after making sure that nobody was around, he gently put his hands on Matthew’s hips and lifted him, placing the mannequin on the floor. Dom looked closely at Matthew and he seemed to discover empathy and funnily…curiosity in the cerulean orbs.

“Hmm, you know what? We should go in the deposit, no one can see us there,” Dom muttered and hugged the mannequin to him closely as he walked there.

He opened the door and turned on the light, locking the door nervously just in case. If that was possible, Matthew’s eyes seemed even wider with curiosity and surprise.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. Although I’m the crazy one here, aren’t I? Talking to plastic dolls and such is definitely not normal, but I just feel so lonely lately. Then that cabbage head Gabriel appeared with his expensive new boyfriend who made it clear how happy they are together. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Gabe anymore, but the aggressive way they wanted to prove their undoubtedly undying love for each other disgusted me,” Dominic confessed, leaning against a wall, for once happy about the dim light.

He didn’t expect a hand on his shoulder, but it felt natural. The blue eyes were reflecting compassion and Dominic forgot everything. He could only see that beautiful plastic face, the mask that, according to Ava Jo, hid his prince. He closed his eyes and leaned in, a tear rolling down his cheek as his lips pressed against Matthew’s. He squeezed his eyes shut, very tightly, wishing that his ardent desire would become true as he stroked the mannequin’s shoulders.

He stopped and leaned his forehead against Matthew’s, too afraid to open his eyes.

And then small lips pressed tenderly against Dominic’s plump ones and the blond heard the cutest giggle in the world.


	6. Completed Soul

“Thank you, Dominic.”

The blond didn’t want to open his eyes yet, because he was sure that he imagined the second kiss, the giggle and the voice. Or maybe he was dreaming. He went home, fell asleep and he was having this dream. No, no, it would be really stupid to wake up from such a sweet dream. Then he heard a giggle again and somebody touched his left cheek. He leaned into the touch; the hand felt human and plastic at the same time: it was warm and flexible, but still somewhat glossy.

Then somebody pecked the tip of his nose and Dominic opened his eyes smiling.

He expected disappointment, but instead the sight of Matthew made him smile even more.

“But how…?” was the only thing he could utter in amazement, cupping Matthew’s face and stroking it with trembling hands, then kissing every inch of it just to make sure that it was real.

“It is a long story, but you know, Ava was close to the truth,” Matthew said, blushing when he met Dominic’s eyes.

The blond hugged him passionately, burying his face in Matt’s shoulder: “Oh my God, I can’t believe it. Tell me everything.”

Matthew bent his arms carefully, his shoulders still not completely transformed into flesh. He sighed before telling his story: “Well, Chris bought me five years ago from an old man, my creator. He knew that I’d be his last creation, so he decided to make me his masterpiece, as human as possible. It took him a couple of months, because he worked slowly and carefully, adding as many details as he could. However, what he didn’t know is that he was so dedicated that he transferred a part of his soul into me in this process.”

“A part of his soul?” Dom asked, amazed.

“Yes. But don’t worry, it didn’t affect him. It was his wish that I’d resemble a real man as much as possible – he even used human hair for me. Now, the only problem was when I became self-aware at the end, but incapable of signalling it to the world surrounding me. I couldn’t move my hands or my legs, nothing. It was terrible. I screamed and nobody heard it. I was captive in my own body.”

Dominic squeezed Matthew’s hand: “But how were you able to change your facial expressions when I started working here?”

“Patience, we’ll get there too,” Matthew smiled. “When Chris bought me and Tom – who by the way, isn’t like me, I just gave him a name and pretended to be my friend – I knew things could change. Especially Ava seemed very perceptive.”

“That’s when you talked to her!”

Matthew nodded. “Exactly. It took great effort, though. I realised that I could communicate if I focused really hard, but it would tire me for weeks. But at least I made Ava believe in me which was a huge step. I knew that one day there’d be someone who would hear me and I decided to gather and preserve my strength for that person.”

Dominic blushed. He knew Matthew was talking about him.

“So on the beautiful afternoon of the 9th of June I laid my eyes on you and my hand inadvertently made a movement, without me controlling it. It was a sign and I knew then that it was you and you noticed it too. It was like a rebirth. Luckily, you saw that paper with the vacant post of shop assistant and the rest is history,” Matthew concluded and beamed at Dom.

“Wow. Pinch me, please, I still can’t believe it! But seriously though, was it my kiss that made you a real human?”

“Yes, true love’s kiss. A kiss from the person that…would complete my partial soul,” Matt whispered.

“…your soul mate.”

“Thank you again, Dominic. When you kissed me, something came to life in my chest and my limbs started tingling. It was my heart that started pumping blood.”

“Amazing,” was all Dominic could utter.

The blue eyes noticed a mirror on the wall and Matthew stepped in front of it, feeling his face and leaning in closer. A cry of joy escaped his lips: “I’m a real man! After so many years!”

Dominic kissed him on the cheek and they exited the deposit. It was time to close the shop. Outside, they looked at the empty place where mannequin Matt used to stand and watch passers-by every day.

“What will I say to Chris?” Dominic asked and started laughing.

“I will come with you tomorrow, although I’m afraid he will freak out,” Matthew answered, giggling.

“And Lucy will kick my arse for not telling her about you.”

“I think she suspects something, though. She’ll be happy.”

The boys walked to the exit holding hands until Matthew stopped.

“Dominic, wait. We should call Ava Jo, she’s our biggest fan, you know?”

“You’re right,” Dom agreed and dialled Chris’ number.

“Hey, Chris! Sorry for bothering you, could I speak to Ava, please?”

His boss seemed surprised, but called after his daughter.

“Hey, Dom! What’s up?” she chirped.

The blonde smiled. “It happened.”

“Hmm? What happened?” she asked curiously.

Matthew leaned in and greeted her: “Hello, dear Ava! Thanks for convincing Dom to finally kiss me!”

There was a long silence and a piercing scream, Chris trying to talk to Dom: “Hey Dom, what did you tell Ava? She’s screaming and laughing and crying and dancing and jumping on the sofa. At the same time.”

Dominic laughed heartily. “Oh, don’t worry, she’ll be fine. I’ll explain everything tomorrow.”

“Yeah…all right,” Chris wasn’t convinced.

“That was enthusiastic!” Matthew said and they laughed again, heading to the bus station.

“Now we only have to figure out what we’ll tell my Mum!” Dominic exclaimed, but he laughed it off, he was too happy.

“Well, if you don’t want to shock her tonight, I could climb in through your window,” Matthew offered. “I’m very flexible, you know.”

“Are you trying to seduce me, darling?”

“Maybe,” Matthew drawled, smiling innocently as Dom leaned in to kiss him and hugging him tightly.

Two hearts beat in unison in the warm summer night, pounding to the rhythm of love.


End file.
